


like letters on the sand

by koroshiyas (lucitae)



Category: NU'EST, Wanna One (Band)
Genre: M/M, canonverse, lapslock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:03:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21950413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucitae/pseuds/koroshiyas
Summary: a series of drabbles if dongho had made it into wanna one instead of minhyun.
Relationships: Kang Dongho | Baekho/Ong Seongwu
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	like letters on the sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shirosayas (landfill)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/landfill/gifts).



> happy new year!!! may this one be a good year for you uwu
> 
> my love told me not to be a coward and who am i to deny ry?
> 
> title taken from iu's through the night.
> 
> characterization is nonexistent.
> 
> entirely self indulgent.

post coitus glow descends on seongwoo in its full languid haziness. his head resting against the crook of dongho’s arm as his finger lazily traces the exterior of the star. it makes him feel like a love sick school girl at times — the way his heart flutters at the sight of dongho’s curled locks matted against his forehead. how that softness is in sharp contrast to the contours of his muscles.

seongwoo trails across the ribbon with the inscription that summarizes dongho succinctly. open, honest. what you put in is what you get out. never one to make light of another. always facing someone as they are, not as who they are rumored to be. with a heart bigger than anyone he knows. and a love overwhelming at first glance, but with calm waves to always keep you afloat.

seongwoo knows all of dongho’s inks by heart. the reminder to never give up, placed opposite of the star. the misspelled ubiqutous that snakes along the right arm. the white tiger of his name sake ( the one his precious sunbaenim had gifted him ) that adorns his left arm. ( the one seongwoo makes a point to kiss in reverence, chills running down his spine whenever he sees dongho’s lashes flutter and eyes grow dark at his action. ) and then the compass on his right leg. the one that keeps him grounded. the one that points him home. the one so deeply engrained in who he is as a person — an eternal reminder that this is temporary. after a two year stint everyone will go their own way. dongho will return to where he belongs. seongwoo will be happy for him but the twinge in his heart is undeniable.

his finger has turned to drawing circles as his mind drifts. the fingers that card through seongwoo’s hair mindlessly now grow hesitant.

it’s admirable the way dongho uses his skin as a canvas: to honor those close to his heart, to tether memories permanently into his being. seongwoo can’t help but wonder if there is a universe out there where dongho would inscribe him into skin — the way dongho has inked himself into seongwoo’s heart.

it’s such a silly thought. he hates himself for it.

dongho’s hand moves to cup seongwoo’s face. or the best he can from the awkward angle.

“what are you thinking about?” dongho asks, always the observant one.

seongwoo shakes his head. lips pursed. stubborn. mostly because it’s nothing.

“it’s not nothing,” dongho says quietly. “it’s never nothing,” he continues as he moves closer, lips against seongwoo’s temple. seongwoo’s heart swells.

“tell me,” dongho urges without any force behind them. it is always a choice. “you know how much i love following your train of thought.”

seongwoo debates propping himself on his elbows to see dongho better but instead chooses to cross his arms over dongho’s chest. it’s firm. reminding him of how inadequate his own body is with all the soft edges, lack of stamina, and love handles. seongwoo sighs and rests his chin on his arm.

dongho’s eyes are mesmerizing. seongwoo would happily drown in them. depending on the amount of light that saturated them, they range from amber to honey. with lips as sweet as his eyes tease them to be.

seongwoo will never get tired of this sight.

“us,” he says as cryptic as ever.

much like the first time dongho stumbled across seongwoo reading a book of poems. the embarrassment that wrought him shame upon dongho seeing his sentimental side.

dongho had always seemed strong to seongwoo. the epitome of what a man should be. their limited interactions on the survival show didn’t help seongwoo’s impression of the sexy bandit. and dongho becoming one of the eleven didn’t help stitch their distance with how daehwi and guanlin clung to dongho every moment of the day.

see, when seongwoo was young he learned quickly: there were boys surrounded by friends and laughter and there were boys who were forever alone. and in the desperation to avoid becoming the latter, he equipped himself with jokes, growing more inappropriate as his target audience aged. his other side was only privy to himself and a select few — terrified of the ridicule that would arise.

but daehwi is refreshingly himself. jihoon challenges anyone who would put him into a box or brush off as just a pretty boy. and dongho...

well, dongho’s first words when seongwoo was griped with fear because of the exposure and stammering out vague explanation was: “minhyun reads that too. is it good?” genuine curiosity written all over his face — a book more open than the one sitting in seongwoo’s lap.

“he tells me i should stop using fanletters for inspiration and take a thing or two from poems,” dongho continues, giving his head a little scratch. a tic resulting from embarrassment at revealing such a detail perhaps. “maybe because i sniffle too much over them.”

tension seeps out from seongwoo’s shoulder. he’s reminded of nu’est’s struggle. the one he felt embittered over until he watched all of them earn their rightful seats. all of them down to earth and modest, keen in getting to know the other boys, but always remembering why they were here.

no wonder dongho would hold the letters dear.

and anyone who would cry over heart felt letters... seongwoo is reminded of the other day when he had read a message on fancafe and almost teared up. emphasis on the almost.

“you can borrow mine if you like,” seongwoo had said.

that was almost six months ago.

before borrowing poems became late nights in the studio. seongwoo becoming one of the few allowed to hear bbaekkom’s compositions. the one on one coaching as dongho improved seongwoo’s vocals. the occasional opportunities where dongho would ask seongwoo to feature in his demos. they would wrap up at ungodly hours in the morning, and head to some restaurant or stall still open for business.

it’s not a great love story. seongwoo doesn’t suddenly become a gym bro after gaping at dongho’s exercise routine. ( yes it’s the routine that is impressive not the way muscles ripple under the weight of strain, no matter what daehwi implies. ) he does enjoy the stories of young dongho and his voyage into the world of kumdo. but doesn’t immediately dash off to jeju to get a glimpse of dongho’s childhood.

there’s nothing loud and overt and in your face.

seongwoo only becomes aware of it when they practice judo for a music video. dongho sprawled on the mat after seongwoo had flipped him over. he had leaned over dongho to tease him but blushed instead when his eyes were drawn from those sparkling eyes to full, pink lips.

that was a little over two months ago.

so it’s ridiculous for such thoughts. but time is running out.

seongwoo will never forget the look of longing on dongho’s face as he watches his band members — brothers — perform where you at on stage. seongwoo knows how much dongho longs to be with them. composes music with each of their strengths in mind as a prayer to stand with them even in this form. the musical track, the chorus, the backing vocals — the fifth member that is still with them on stage in spirit. the first win of nu’est w brought a look of immense pride onto dongho’s face that it almost makes seongwoo forget the sadness that lingers behind his eyes.

( seongwoo never will. )

“what about us?” dongho interrupts seongwoo’s reminiscence. knowing seongwoo’s penchant for delving deep into his own thoughts ( much like his aron hyung but also different in many ways ).

he pats seongwoo’s face and then keeps the palm of his hand against seongwoo’s cheek as seongwoo leans into it.

seongwoo sighs.

there’s no escaping it. there’s also no use in lying. when they walked into love with their eyes wide open, they had decided to build their relationship on trust, honesty, and communication.

“what happens to us after all of this?” he begins, waiting for dongho to catch onto what he’s trying to say here.

dongho stays silent. thumb caressing seongwoo as if urging him to elaborate.

“what will happen to us when we disband?”

dongho’s brow knits. the one that always strikes seongwoo as _cute_ and always tempts him to kiss it away. how did he ever find this man intimidating?

“i don’t know,” dongho says, honest. never one to sugarcoat things or say what seongwoo wants to hear. he’d probably get a punch in the shoulder if he said something sweeping like _we’ll still be together_ or _you have nothing to worry about_.

one arm behind his head so he can meet seongwoo’s eyes, the other leaving seongwoo’s face to find his hand. he intertwines them together and holds them in place.

“i don’t know what will happen to us in the future,” dongho confesses. dimpled cheeks tinged pink with sheepishness. “but i do know that i’m taking it one day at a time. and as long as you’ll have me, i’ll be here.”

dongho presses his lips against seongwoo’s knuckles.

for someone who had always wanted to be a pampered princess, he’s so good at playing the knight.

seongwoo scrambles off dongho and wedges his knee against dongho’s ass in a playful kick for being so cheesy.

“ow,” dongho whines, turning towards seongwoo. he buries his head against seongwoo’s chest and wraps both arms around seongwoo’s waist. “i’m still sore.”

seongwoo flushes at how ten minutes ago dongho looked, gasping with pleasure.

“don’t blame me,” seongwoo retorts, thanking his acting classes for keeping hard edge to his tone, “you were the one riding me. i thought my dick was going to break.”

“weak.”

seongwoo doesn’t have to see dongho’s face to know the slight pout on his face. he wraps his arms around dongho. lips brushing against the top of dongho’s head.

“but you love me,” seongwoo says. it comes out not like a tease the way he wants. there’s an uncertainty to it that he can’t rescind.

dongho peeks out from where he is buried to meet seongwoo’s eyes.

“i do.”


End file.
